THE LEGACY OF NEW YORK EPISODE 78: BUDDY RICH

Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987)⁠[1]⁠ was an American ⁠jazz⁠ drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time.⁠[2]⁠
Rich was born and raised in ⁠Brooklyn⁠, ⁠New York⁠, United States.⁠[1]⁠ He discovered his affinity for jazz music at a young age and began drumming at the age of two. He began playing jazz in 1937, working with acts such as ⁠Bunny Berigan⁠, ⁠Artie Shaw⁠, ⁠Tommy Dorsey⁠, ⁠Count Basie⁠, and ⁠Harry James⁠. From 1942 to 1944, Rich served in the ⁠U.S. Marines⁠. From 1945 to 1948, he led the Buddy Rich Orchestra.⁠[3]⁠ In 1966, he recorded a big-band style arrangement of songs from ⁠West Side Story⁠. He found lasting success in 1966[⁠citation needed⁠] with the formation of the Buddy Rich Big Band, also billed as the Buddy Rich Band and The Big Band Machine.
Rich was known for his virtuoso technique, power, and speed.⁠[4]⁠ He was an advocate of the ⁠traditional grip⁠, though he occasionally used ⁠matched grip⁠ when playing the ⁠toms⁠. Despite his commercial success and musical talent, Rich never learned how to read ⁠sheet music⁠, preferring to listen to drum parts and play them from memory.


PICTURE: By William P. Gottlieb - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Music Divisionunder the digital ID gottlieb.14811.This tag does not indicate the copyright still required. See Commons:Licensing., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15646661status of the attached work.